The Nude image analysis

Image by Minor White Portland: 1940

American photographer who during his career collaborated with the likes of Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston. His early work demonstrated documentation of barns, doorways, the sky or even the simplicity of paint peeling off a wall. He later moved on to portraits of male nudes, as he was a troubled bisexual who at the time felt anguished by his socially unacceptable feelings towards men at that time. Through these portraits he expressed his spiritual longing for peace and simplicity.

•How does the nude reflect the period in which it was made?

         Personally I don't feel this portrait of the male reflects anything of the 1940's and the period it was taken. With it being taken in front a white background and simply of the males midi section and in black & white, the image does not give anything away other than what it is of. At first glances, without the title, it could easily be mistaken for one of Robert Mapplethorpes nude portraits from the 1970's/1980's. 

•Do you think the image you have chosen objectifies the body?

Yes it does but only the male body - not just because it is a man in the picture but also because his stance 

is very powerful and reminds of me a male statue. The lighting and shadows on the legs show the strength in
the muscles and then the shadows of the body visible on the walls show the rest of the body that we can't see
- the arms/shoulders.

Portraiture Paraphrase from Grahame Clarke The Photograph Chapter 7

Mary Hillier, 1872

Sir John Herschel, 1867

 Portraits by Julia Margaret Cameron.

In Chapter 6 of 'The Photograph' Grahame Clarke says when portrait photography emerged it was as part of a selection of society rules that established the theories and concepts of demonstration. Julia Margaret Cameron's work (1815-79) is a fine example of this, maintaining the status as one of the best British portrait photographers throughout the Victorian era, holding friendships with various leading names (including Alfred Lord Tennyson who often sat for her). The elements of classical and artistic significance demonstrated throughout her photographs imply a certain sequence of codes which in effect modifies the manner and the subject of choice that is photographed. Above all, Cameron's portraits indicate a remarkable divide amid her illustration of the male and the female, proposing characteristics of erotic stereotypes typical to that of Victorian Britain generically.

Pictorialism Image Analysis

Pictorialism...

This is the title given to a cosmopolitan style and movement particularly relating to photography throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. There seems to be no official definition of the word Pictorialism, but it tends to demonstrate an image that has been created in a way that depicts something more creative than a basic photograph. Usually the image will be out of focus, have more than one print in colour and black and white, and show evidence of manipulation such as brush stokes or engraving. Types of pictoraliast images tend to be nude, still life and portraiture.

Anne Brigman...

Self-Portrait - Anne Brigman

I have chosen to look at an image, a self-portrait, by Anne Brigman of the Pictorialist movement. An American photographer who was a part of the 'Photo-Secession' - a movement in the 20th century that aided fine art and photography exposing Pictorialism. She worked predominantly with female nudes in her images, placing them in moody landscape scenes, particularly where trees were present. Each location carefully chosen. Once the negs were developed she would broadly work on post-manipulation with paints and pencils. She often experimented with self portraiture, and shows an early example of bohemianism and female liberation through her work.

In this image there is evidence of a rural relationship between herself and the land, something that is very common in pictorialism, especially as she is leant on the ground so there is a full connection amid herself and earth. Evidently, she is nude, another key feature in an image that indicates pictorialism. It is a portrait (self), although the more I look at it, the more I see elements of a still life. She is like a statue by the water, so elegantly positioned and leaning forwards. The image is in soft focus - this more than likely was intentional. There appears to be a 'painterley' effect like textured paper, mainly around the top section of the image. I would imagine that she did use paint, pens and scratches to add the texture to the water and the sky area. She possibly used the dodging and burning technique on both sides of the image, and also the darker area of the ground just behind her.

Modernism Image Analysis

The task is to find and analyse a modernist image. 

Image: Paul Strand, Wall Street NYC - 1915

I have chosen to look at Paul Strand's image of a scene in New York, early 1900's, which displays original modernism photography at its best. By this I mean a photography that looks like a photograph. It is a documentation of a an everyday scenery with people walking along Wall Street to an unknown destination, but still there is nothing unreal about this. Paul Strand was an American photographer who focused on street-life documentary and became one of those responsible for establishing photography as an art form along with Alfred Steiglitz. 

The image demonstrates the structure and order of Wall Street. Every man or women is dressed smartly in a suit or long coat suggesting they are on their way to or from work in the business capital of New York. Even the shadows of each person, all charging through minding their own business, are in order and straight which suits where this image has been taken. The detail and contrast of the shadows suggest is was a bright, sunny day and perhaps morning or mid afternoon. It would seem that Strand was stood looking down onto Wall Street, very typical of a modernist style photograph, and with the people all walking in the same direction. Their is certainly an abstract influence about this photograph, a common way in which Strand tended to work, with the definition of shapes, lines and figures. There is a distinct similarity between this image and an abstract painting with the detail and repetitiveness of what is happening.  

Library Task: Find an academic text

 1966 - Gerard Malanga - 'Warhol and The Velvet Underground'

For my academic text I have chosen to look at work in 'Photo Icons - The Story Behind the Pictures' by Hans-Michael Koetzle. I chose the image below taken in 1966 by Gerard Malanga of Andy Warhol, Nico and The Velvet Underground. This book has a wide selection of iconic photos dating from the first photographic practice used by Nicephore Niepce with 'View from the study window' in 1839 right to Robert Mapplethorpes portrait of Lisa Lyon in 1980's and more. The book is based on Koetzle's 'reading' of pictures, with detailed analyses on each photo he has selected as well as a background on the photographer and the people in the pictures.

Gerard Melanga is an American photographer, poet  and film-maker. He worked closely with Warhol throughout the 1960's and was described by the New York Times as his 'most important associate.' He documented the day to day life of Warhol, as well as collaborating on many of his mini screen tests. They continued to work close together up until Warhol's death in the 1980's, when Malanga persisted as a photographer based in New York and described as a Warhol expert.

Text and Image Analysis:

Initially when presented with this image it reflects that of a photo-shoot that has been staged to be aesthetically pleasing, with the undeniable styling of the artists and the compositions that suggest they have not decided to just stand there. But in fact, as with the majority of Malanga's work, nothing here is set up or staged. The photo consists of Andy Warhol, Nico and the Velvet Underground, stood in front of what looks like a shop window of some description, displaying their ultimate hipster trend and influential importance of their time. This is what allows you to believe they have been directed into this very rock and roll arrangement in order to achieve a solid image. However, it in fact almost did not happen at all. This statement picture was taken on Malanga's 35mm film camera in the style of an everyday snapshot with a simple quick press of the button with no intention whatsoever to create 'art'. Once aware of the haphazard method behind this picture is in result what adds an overwhelming appeal to it and them.

Dada image analysis

A cultural movement initially for the visual artists, poets, musicians and creative people around 1916 when it began. The theory behind it was for its 'members' to discuss and analyse what they described as the meaningless of the modern world. It started in Zurich and Switzerland then catapulted across to Berlin, Cologne, Paris, New York, Tokyo and Netherlands.

I have chosen to analyse Man Ray's work during the Dada period and his experimentation with 'Rayographs.'

'It has never been my object to record my dreams, just the determination to realise them.' - Man Ray

Man Ray was an American artist who was based in Paris. He is known as a modernist and seen as a key part in the Dada and Surrealist movements. He worked extensively as a painter but also had involvement with the media circle which lead to working as a fashion photographer. One of his greatest successes is the 'Photogram' in the 1920's, which later he renamed the 'Rayograph.'

166 Rayograph

This is an example of Man Ray's Rayograph, taken from the book 'Manray photographs' by Thomas & Hudson. 

To produce a Rayograph (photogram), any object can be placed onto photographic paper then exposed to light, all done in the dark room. This leaves a negative effect but as a print, as in the areas covered up by the objects appear white and the rest of the paper is black or grey.

Amber is for Caution image analysis and review

This image is taken from the front cover of Valerie Phillips book 'Amber is for Caution.'

We looked at Valerie Phillips exhibition currently at college and chose one image to analyse. The image below is the one I chose although the version in the exhibition is yellow with the text 'we're going to be best friends, I can already tell' stated on it.

Analysis 

I think the exhibition title is linked to traffic lights as Amber is her name but also one of the colours of a set of traffic lights and I feel this connection represents her edgy, fearless moods. Also her naivety.  Instantly I get the sense that Amber is insecure and all over the place. In the image she is standing vulnerable and looks reserved as if she wants to make a good impression to new people. There is no expression in her face, giving nothing away, whereas in the other images she is laughing or smiling or pulling a face. The location of a cornfield I feel is an innocent location as again the others ooze grunginess and teenage influences. Perhaps a plain location has been chosen to match the message Amber is trying to portray – that she does put on a front but deep down she is just a teenage girl with feelings. The angle of the shot is pretty much straight on, there is no pose as such, implying nothing is false here. The yellow tint, in effect amber, I feel is a colour to represent herself (her name) and that she is being herself, nothing is hidden here. My opinion on the text is she is desperate and in truth vulnerable to the world, searching for not necessarily a friend but to be accepted and wanted. It’s quite childlike. It feels as though she is saying it and it is coming straight from her. The exhibition as a whole appears as photo-essay and documentation of Amber’s everyday life and her personality. Her style is also depicted in each image bar this one.  She is an ex-model  that met Valerie when she was 15 and Valerie continued to document her over the next few years. My overall opinion of Amber is that she is a girl who puts a show on to society that she doesn’t care what people think but deep down she is innocent and was thrown into the model world from a young age, leaving her feeling alone.

I was so interested in the works of Valerie Phillips and this story after viewing this exhibition, I bought the book. Some of my observations were correct, but in fact Amber is generally a happy-go-lucky teenage girl who lives for the moment, does not care what people think and more thank likely the next time you see her she will be sporting a new tattoo or piercing! She became a model from the young age of 15, around the time she met Valerie. They met again when she was 18. Then not longer after on the way to a photo-shoot in New York she suddenly realised this was not what she wanted to do, so she cut her hair, dyed and orange and inevitably was not cast for this job. She is now studying to be a surgical technician.